When I visited you for the first time, you did not know of my existence. It was shameful to talk about me - or even utter my name - so they all kept you in the dark.

And naturally, your first reaction to me was fear. You couldn't understand why I trickled down from between your legs and collected in a warm pool inside your underwear. I could tell - you thought you were going to die. Then, your mom handed you a pad and gave you some information - just enough for you to grasp that I wasn't a fatal disease. I was reduced to an annoyance you'd have to face every month - where I'd leave you bloodied for a few days. And that's it. But they did not tell you what I signified - that you're now an adolescent capable of creating the miracle of life. That l'm to govern the hormones flowing through your body. That I'm going to keep you healthy. And that my disappearance would be one of your biggest worries. Instead, they made me into this impure thing women must endure. They filled you with lies against me - myths that have gripped one generation after another. They forbade you from having a normal life when I was around. And you believed them for the longest time.

You suffered through it all - believing yourself to be cursed and me to be your worst enemy. But, I'm here to tell you that I'm not. I merely do everything in my power to keep you healthy and thriving. And you know that now! But tell me... Wouldn't it have been easier? Wouldn't it have been so much less scary? If you knew about me before I paid you my very first visit? Or, if you learnt my true purpose? If you weren't made to believe that I'm impure and, in turn, make you so?

A lot of us grew up with half-baked knowledge about menstruation. Many of us didn't even know about its existence till we first noticed that red stain in our underwear.

To be continued.....